Category: News

[caption id="attachment_234" align="alignleft" width="212"] Steve Stier, LCHPS President[/caption] Hello Friends, Since our beginning five years ago, The Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society (LCHPS), has been extremely fortunate to have generous financial donors like you, who believed in our efforts to save the Poor Farm Barn. All the original structural deficiencies have been repaired. We can… Read More

Row by Row (formerly Buckets of Rain) and Food Rescue of Northwest Michigan are seeking a large home or small commercial working refrigerator that is fully or even partially donated.  Both organizations are not-for-profits so gifts may be tax deductible.  This year, a new partnership with Food Rescue of Northwest Michigan will enhance storage, pick-up,… Read More

Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society (LCHPS) Receives $20,000 in Grants for Documentary  LCHPS board members, Barbara Siepker and Tina Mehren, have been working on a documentary of the historic ‘Leelanau County Poor Farm’ for The Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society, where we both serve on the board. The documentary is entitled, Life on the Leelanau County… Read More

On May 2, 2022 the replica of the cupola was installed.  The installation crew was comprised of James Schettek (far left), owner of David Webster Construction and grandson of John Schettek, the builder of the Poor Farm Barn in 1911. Ronnie Hines (far right) also from David Webster Construction, and crane operator, Patrick Herman (center)… Read More

The Glen Lake Community Library Sponsors: Looking Back • Moving Forward Leelanau County Poor Farm Lives On: From the early days to the future Tuesday May 3, 2022   7:00 pm Glen Lake Community Library • Empire Program Room Attendance is limited to 25. Reserve your seat now by calling the Library  (231) 326-5361 or by… Read More

The Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society is pleased to announce that we have received a generous grant from the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation in 2021.  The Ball family’s commitment to making a difference in the nonprofit world, in this case Leelanau County, which they consider a second home, will have a significant… Read More

Michigan County Poor Farms Virtual Presentation Tuesday, October 19, 2021 @ 7PM Click on the link below for the presentation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZmF-6C4Xhk Long before the advent of modern social welfare, county governments in Michigan maintained poorhouses or poor farms. Explore the early history of these facilities in their attempts to become both self-sustaining entities and refuges… Read More

The May 2021 eNewsletter contains the photos of the five barn selected for the 2021 Barn of the Year Award from the Michigan Barn Preservation Network (MBPN). To view a photo gallery of the award ceremony along with a YouTube video of the event click on the link to Barn of the Year Award. on… Read More

The Michigan Barn Preservation Network is pleased to announce that the Leelanau County Poor Farm Barn that you nominated has been selected to receive the 2021 Barn of the Year Award.  A panel of 8 judges selected your Barn from 11 entries to be one of 5 to receive the distinction this year.  You can… Read More

Established in 1955 the Michigan Historical Marker Program is part of the Michigan History Center in Lansing. Since its inception more than 1,700 Michigan Historical Markers have been placed across the state, and in several other states and Europe, making Michigan's one of the premier marker programs in the nation. Each marker reflects an important… Read More